Penn State Football: Joe Paterno Enters Bobby Bowden Waters, It's on AD Now

Nobody wants to be the guy who tells Joe Paterno he can no longer coach. Nobody, and the pressure to be the one who says to Paterno "You know, maybe retirement would be your best option," is something that does not appear to be evident in the office of Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley.

That is all rubbish that people outside he program, who do not truly understand the inner workings of the program, will regurgitate just to hear their own voice speak out. It has been popular for the past few years to say Paterno needs to do what is best and retire already. But think about that sentiment before you go off on believing that.

Take notice of all of the negative headlines polluting college football the past couple of seasons. Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, USC and more schools found themselves tied to various infractions off the field. Not Penn State. Under Paterno's watch Penn State is one of a small number of schools (two with Stanford) to avoid NCAA sanctions in some shape. When Paterno does realize he's messed up according to the NCAA rule book, he fesses up immediately.

On Saturday, Paterno will go for career win No. 402 of his historic career, and some have suggested that he has been selfish in doing so. He has won more college football games than any coach in FCS history has and he is within reach of Grambling's Eddie Robinson for second all-time in college football (reaching active John Gagliardi appears to be impossible). He has a pair of national championships and even more undefeated season. His plan to earn success with honor has led to a large number of players advancing to the National Football League while earning a college degree, and those who have not reached the NFL have gone to be successful in other ventures.

Clearly, his hanging on to a job is bad for the game, right?

Bobby Bowden was forced out of a job at Florida State with the football program taking a step or two back, and with a successor already in place the pressure was on to make a change. This season, in a short turnaround time, Florida State is looking to be worthy of top ten consideration and could have an outside chance at playing for a BCS title this season, with an even better chance in 2012.

Comparing Paterno to Bobby Bowden is beyond absurd. Other than age, few things are remotely similar between the two. Bowden's replacement was made public. Florida State had fallen behind in the ACC while Penn State still was showing an ability to win a BCS conference championship every couple of years. Florida State is in a state in which there is more pressure to win with programs like rival Florida being a BCS championship program multiple times in recent years. That is not quite the situation in Pennsylvania.

If there is anything Curley needs to do it is to come out and say that Paterno has earned the right to determine his own fate, and let it be.

He certainly has. 

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.